Suddenly, I Became a Slime

Chapter 74: The Anomaly

My efforts to do something about the door… yielded no results.

There was no gap in the tightly shut door for my jelly to penetrate.

I thought about forcibly pushing my jelly in through the cracks, but even putting aside the practical issue of my precious, precious parts not being able to pass through.

The door was so seamless it could be mistaken for a wall if not for the pattern.

Why did they make it so unnecessarily well-made when they’re just going to leave it unused like this?

Well, no… They probably made it intending to use it.

Still, I’m left wishing they made it a bit shoddier so I could get in.

It’s not a poor construction, but wouldn’t a gap just big enough for me be okay?

Shaking my head, I gave up on opening the door and decided to look for another entry point.

I considered dissolving the door itself, but unlike the whale’s heart, there was no starting point I could eat.

I need something I can swallow, even if small, to somehow get started… But there’s no such gap at all.

In the first place, a heart and a sturdy steel wall… aren’t the same.

Meanwhile, a very faint sound kept coming from beyond the door.

As if mocking me.

Feeling slightly irritated, I looked around.

And discovered the passage of promised victory.

A ventilation duct that usually functions as an infiltration route in such places.

You could call it the spice of sneak action that lets you pass through any heavily guarded area.

The funny thing is.

No matter how heavily guarded a place is…

…For some reason, only the vents are shoddy.

Anyway.

It was nothing bad for me, so I made my body sticky and climbed up the wall.

If I had the ability to fly in the air… I wish it would manifest quickly.

Reaching the vent entrance, I grabbed it firmly.

And *whoosh!*

Yanked it open.

It felt heavier than expected, but I thought that even I could manage that much.

But.

The vent cover that was supposed to open didn’t budge, and only my hand got sliced off in the shape of the vent, plopping to the floor.

At that moment, I stared blankly at the traces. They regenerated at the speed of light as if nothing had happened.

But the splattered jelly on the floor revealed what had just occurred.

No.

What the heck?

I was puzzled as to why, but upon closer look, I spotted large screws embedded in each corner.

…Come to think of it, I feel like I experienced something similar before.

Should I fill the screw holes with slime and dissolve them?

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I briefly considered that, but I didn’t particularly want to eat metal chunks.

If I can avoid the taste of licking metal with my tongue… I don’t need to do it, right?

No one’s threatening me to eat it.

Before that, first.

I *clang!*

Lifted up the dazed Sosik leaning against the wall.

The fellow wriggled like a fish out of water.

I brought such Sosik to the door and put a metal rod I found nearby into his hand.

I feel like he’s contemplating whether to hit me… Must it be my imagination?

Feeling something strange, I showed him how to tap the door with the rod.

He seemed reluctant but soon began tapping the door… *ting*… *ting*.

*Ting*… *ting*… *ting*.

A sound that felt somewhat trivial reverberated through the surroundings.

I had nothing to order Daesik at the moment, so I set him down next to Sosik.

Then Jungsik and I floated up to the vent entrance.

And.

I forcibly pushed Jungsik inside.

Since he’s shaped like a whale, I felt like I was committing animal cruelty, but upon touching the vent entrance, he split into slime units and slowly passed through.

After sending Jungsik… It was my turn.

Pressing my body against the vent entrance, I squeezed myself in with a *squish*.

Passing through the vent feels strange.

I think last time, I had to wait a bit for my body to stick back together.

But now…

My slime reattaches at an alarmingly fast speed.

While I marveled at the speed that puts healing factors to shame.

…My body, which hadn’t fully passed through, got stuck in the vent opening.

In other words.

My body was fixed in place by the vent grate.

Right in the middle of my waist.

Simply put, my lower half dangled outside the vent.

And my upper half entered inside.

My upper half was being body slammed by the enraged Jungsik.

His squishy tackles were quite fierce.

I got hit by all of them since there was no room to dodge.

…Though it only made *squish squish* sounds.

Anyways.

Seeing how he’s ramming into me, too.

I think this guy really has issues.

In any case.

I pushed away the repeatedly ramming Jungsik and entered the vent.

Entering that narrow, dusty space, I now feel a sense of comfort.

I wonder if I can call myself a pro at vent infiltration now?

…Still, I don’t like the taste of dust.

I rearranged my slime for a moment and proceeded through the vent with Jungsik.

While carefully listening to the sound of Sosik knocking on the door.

Well… I should be able to follow the direction the knowledge pouch points to.

But just in case, it was insurance I left behind.

In other words…

It was insurance in case the knowledge pouch wavers like now.

…Why is it acting up again?

Upon entering the vent, the knowledge pouch that pointed beyond the door began to waver.

Since even I, its owner, don’t know how it works, I had no idea why it was doing this.

Perhaps.

Could there be other… anomalies besides the one causing this strange situation?

Thinking that, my slime felt a bit tense.

I wish it had warned me beforehand if there was something terrifying.

Feeling needless anxiety, I paid attention to the knocking sound and proceeded through the vent.

The exit I wanted wasn’t far away.

We came in from right in front, so it being close is natural.

Reaching the exit, Jungsik and I looked inside.

Inside… was a scene you’d imagine when you think of a “laboratory.”

It feels like viewing a model house…

*Thump, thump.*

And I see the door that Sosik has been knocking on for a while.

Seeing that I can still hear the sound, I can see that Sosik is doing his job properly.

Honestly, his sprawled-out appearance looks hateful, so I made him do it on purpose.

But to think he does it when told… I felt strange.

After feeling odd for a moment, I prepared to enter.

It’s mean to just leave him knocking.

I pushed Jungsik in first, then squeezed my body inside the same way I came in.

Jungsik, having experienced it once, generously floated towards the *thump thump* door.

*Clang!*

With that sound, I landed on the floor, and this time Jungsik *clang clanged* his body against the door where the thumping was coming from.

…Was he bothered by the noise from outside?

I can empathize with the feeling if you consider it like noise between floors.

But I wish he’d endure it.

Shaking my head, I approached the door and spotted a downward switch at a slightly high position, right where an adult human’s hand would reach.

Seeing “manual open/close” written, it seemed the door would open if I pulled it down.

With a strange excitement, I jumped with my bubbling slime and grabbed the handle.

And pulled it down, putting my weight into it.

Then.

With a *thud!*

The tightly closed gap in the door opened.

I applied a bit of force, and the door opened very easily, making my efforts seem pointless.

But.

*Whack.*

As the door opened, the metal rod struck my body.

Startled by the sudden attack, I looked at the end of the rod.

There was Daesik, or rather, Alice.

Realizing he had hit me with the rod, Daesik looked shocked and threw the rod away.

Feeling somewhat dazed, I shifted my gaze to the side and saw Sosik leaning against the wall with a disappointed look.

I thought he was working hard.

But he was slacking off.

…Seriously, is Daesik the only decent one?

Is the oldest the best, after all?

I would have sighed deeply enough to make the floor cave in if I could sigh.

Shaking my head, I embraced Daesik.

Daesik seemed uncomfortable, probably because he hit me with the rod, but calmed down when I patted his head.

Then, taking Jungsik, who rolled outside, and the lazy Sosik.

I searched inside, following the directions pointed out by the knowledge pouch. It’s now pointing in one direction again.

Before long.

I found a strange object under a large desk.

It was definitely strange.

It was operating fine in this space with no electricity, and yet.

I wondered why such a thing was here.

Yes.

What appeared before my eyes was.

For some reason.

*whirr whirr whirr*

It was a spinning electric fan.